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Americas Settled 15,000 Years Ago, Study Says
National Geographic
Archaeologists have found an amulet inscribed with a Jewish prayer in a 3rd century CE child's burial in
an Austrian town
Universität Wien
Public Release: 17-Mar-2008
Genetic Counseling
Genetic counselors turn to unconventional counseling to meet demand for genetic testing
Imagine receiving genetic test results for a disease you could develop
later in life without having anyone with whom to discuss your options
for managing the risk. That's becoming a common occurrence as people
turn to the Internet and other outlets for genetic testing without
genetic counseling. In an effort to broaden accessibility to genetic
counseling, researchers are exploring nonconventional counseling
methods that challenge traditional approaches.
Contact: Karen Mallet
km463@georgetown.edu
414-312-7085
Georgetown University Medical Center
Public Release: 17-Mar-2008
PLoS Biology
Loss of egg yolk genes in mammals and the origin of lactation and placentation
The major egg yolk genes, those that express vitellogenins, appear to
have progressively lost their functionality during mammalian evolution,
probably due to the emergence of the mammalian-specific developmental
nourishment resources, lactation, and placentation.
Contact: Natalie Bouaravong
press@plos.org
415-568-3445
Public Library of Science
Public Release: 17-Mar-2008
PLoS Medicine
Blood disease protects against malaria in an unexpected way
Children with an inherited blood disorder called alpha thalassemia make
unusually small red blood cells that mostly cause a mild form of
anemia. Now, researchers have discovered that this disorder has a
benefit -- it can protect children against one of the world’s greatest
killers, malaria, according to a new study.
Wellcome Trust
Contact: Lorinda Klein
Lorindaann.Klein@nyumc.org
212-404-3555
New York University Medical Center and School of Medicine
Public Release: 17-Mar-2008
2008 International Conference on Emerging Infectious Diseases
Severe West Nile infection could lead to lifetime of symptoms
Most people who suffer severe infection with West Nile virus still
experience symptoms years after infection and many may continue to
experience these symptoms for the rest of their lives according to
research presented today at the 2008 International Conference on
Emerging Infectious Diseases.
Contact: Jim Sliwa
jsliwa@asmusa.org
202-942-9297
American Society for Microbiology
Public Release: 17-Mar-2008
Clinical Chemistry
Bonn scientists discover new hemoglobin type
Scientists at the University of Bonn have discovered a new rare type of
hemoglobin. Hemoglobin transports oxygen in the red blood corpuscles.
When bound to oxygen it changes color. The new hemoglobin type appears
optically to be transporting little oxygen. Measurements of the blood
oxygen level therefore present a similar picture to patients suffering
from an inherited cardiac defect.
Contact: Dr. Berndt Zur
berndt.zur@ukb.uni-bonn.de
49-022-828-7121
University of Bonn
Public Release: 17-Mar-2008
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
First 'rule' of evolution suggests that life is destined to become more complex
Scientists have revealed what may well be the first pervasive 'rule' of
evolution. In a study published in the Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences researchers have found evidence which suggests that
evolution drives animals to become increasingly more complex.
Beit Scientific Research Fellowship, Natural Sciences and Engineering
Research Council of Canada, Biotechnology and Biological Sciences
Research
Contact: Andrew McLaughlin
a.mclaughlin@bath.ac.uk
44-012-253-86883
Public Release: 17-Mar-2008
MIT: Rx for high drug prices
The mounting US drug price crisis can be contained and eventually
reversed by separating drug discovery from drug marketing and by
establishing a non-profit company to oversee funding for new medicines,
according to two MIT experts on the pharmaceutical industry.
Contact: Elizabeth Thomson
thomson@mit.edu
617-258-5402
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Public Release: 17-Mar-2008
Acta Materialia
Fake diamonds help jet engines take the heat
Engineers are developing a technology to coat jet engine turbine blades
with zirconium dioxide -- commonly called zirconia, the stuff of
synthetic diamonds -- to combat high-temperature corrosion. The
zirconia chemically converts sand and other corrosive particles that
build up on the blade into a new, protective outer coating. In effect,
the surface of the engine blade constantly renews itself.
US Office of Naval Research, US Naval Air Systems Command
Contact: Nitin Padture
Padture.1@osu.edu
614-247-8114
Ohio State University
Chinook Salmon Vanish Without a Trace
By FELICITY BARRINGER SACRAMENTO
Where did they go? The
almost complete collapse of the richest and most dependable source of
Chinook salmon south of Alaska left gloomy fisheries experts struggling
for reliable explanations ― and coming up dry.
Public Release: 18-Mar-2008
Plant Biotechnology Journal
Gene 'knockout' floors tobacco carcinogen
In large-scale field trials, scientists from North Carolina State
University have shown that silencing a specific gene in burley tobacco
plants significantly reduces harmful carcinogens in cured tobacco
leaves.
The finding could lead to tobacco products -- especially smokeless
products -- with reduced amounts of cancer-causing agents.
Philip Morris USA
Contact: Dr. Ralph Dewey
ralph_dewey@ncsu.edu
919-515-2705
North Carolina State University
Public Release: 18-Mar-2008
Annals of Neurology
Lithium chloride slows onset of skeletal muscle disorder
A new UC-Irvine study finds that lithium chloride, a drug used to treat
bipolar disorder, can slow the development of inclusion body myositis,
a skeletal muscle disease that affects the elderly.
National Institutes of Health
Contact: Jennifer Fitzenberger
jfitzen@uci.edu
949-824-3969
University of California - Irvine
Public Release: 18-Mar-2008
Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society
Arctic pollution's surprising history
Scientists know that air pollution particles from mid-latitude cities
migrate to the Arctic and form an ugly haze, but a new University of
Utah study finds surprising evidence that polar explorers saw the same
phenomenon as early as 1870.
National Science Foundation, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Contact: Lee Siegel
leesiegel@ucomm.utah.edu
801-581-8993
University of Utah
Fizzy water powered 'super' geysers on ancient Mars
Like the spray of a shaken soda can, geysers of carbonated water once shot several kilometres above the Martian surface
16:15 17 March 2008
The Neanderthal-Human Split: (Very) Ancient History
Discovery.com
Methane found on distant world
A carbon-containing molecule has been detected for the first time on a planet outside our Solar System.
Blue LEDs to reset tired truckers' body clocks
Lighting truck stops and truck cabs with eerie blue light could reset night drivers' body clocks to keep them alert
12:19 18 March 2008
Public Release: 19-Mar-2008
Cultural Geographies
Woodburn, Ore.: a microcosm of immigrant shifts in America
Travelers on I-5 know that Woodburn, Ore., is home to the region's
largest tax-free outlet center. A University of Oregon researcher,
however, turns away from the mall to study the heart of town, which,
she says, provides insight on how new immigrant settlement patterns are
transforming place and identity in small- to medium-sized US cities.
Contact: Jim Barlow
jebarlow@uoregon.edu
541-346-3481
University of Oregon
Public Release: 19-Mar-2008
SIGGRAPH 2006
UC-San Diego computer scientists release most realistic online makeover tool on the Web
UC-San Diego computer scientists have released their online makeover
tool to the public this week at taaz.com. The cosmetics counter is no
longer the only place to try out the latest makeup trends. The new way
is easier, faster, and much more private. Anyone with a digital
photograph can now apply more than 4,000 makeup products with the click
of a mouse.
Contact: Daniel Kane
dbkane@ucsd.edu
858-534-3262
University of California - San Diego
Why men should pair off with younger women
It makes evolutionary sense, as the age difference matters if you want lots of kids
00:01 19 March 2008
Two-week-old blood no good for transfusions
Patients
who are given blood more than 14 days old are more likely to die,
possibly because the red blood cells are breaking down
21:00 19 March 2008
Floating a big idea: MIT demos ancient use of rafts to transport goods
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Public Release: 20-Mar-2008
Most republicans think the US health care system is the best in the world; democrats disagree
A recent survey by the Harvard School of Public Health and Harris
Interactive, as part of their ongoing series, Debating Health: Election
2008, finds that Americans are generally split on the issue of whether
the United States has the best health care system in the world (45
percent believe the US has the best system; 39 percent believe other
countries have better systems; 15 percent don't know or refused to
answer) and that there is a significant divide along party lines.
Contact: Robin Herman
rherman@hsph.harvard.edu
617-432-4752
Harvard School of Public Health
Life’s Work
Clicking, at Last, on ‘Don’t Print’
By LISA BELKIN
Green
is to this decade’s workplace what flexible hours were to the last, but
changing the behavior of individual workers may be a challenge.
For Scientists, a Beer Test Shows Results as a Litmus Test
By CAROL KAESUK YOON
What
is it that turns one scientist into more of a Darwin and another into
more of a dud? After years of argument over the roles of factors
like genius, sex and dumb luck, a new study shows that something
entirely unexpected and considerably sudsier may be at play in
determining the success or failure of scientists ― beer.
Public Release: 20-Mar-2008
Tuatara, the fastest evolving animal
Researchers have found that, although tuatara have remained largely
physically unchanged over very long periods of evolution, they are
evolving -- at a DNA level -- faster than any other animal yet examined.
Contact: Cathleen Genova
cgenova@cell.com
617-397-2802
Cell Press
Public Release: 20-Mar-2008
Physical Review Letters
Rare cosmic rays are from far away
Final results from the University of Utah's High Resolution Fly's Eye
cosmic ray observatory show that the most energetic particles in the
universe rarely reach Earth at full strength because they come from
great distances, so most of them collide with radiation left over from
the birth of the universe. The findings confirm a 42-year-old
prediction -- known as the Greisen-Zatsepin-Kuzmin "cutoff," "limit" or
"suppression" -- about ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays.
National Science Foundation, US Department of Energy
Contact: Lee Siegel
leesiegel@ucomm.utah.edu
801-244-5399
University of Utah
Public Release: 20-Mar-2008
Science
'Nanominerals' influence Earth systems from ocean to atmosphere to biosphere
The ubiquity of tiny particles of minerals -- mineral nanoparticles --
in oceans and rivers, atmosphere and soils, and in living cells are
providing scientists with new ways of understanding Earth's workings.
Our planet's physical, chemical, and biological processes are
influenced or driven by the properties of these minerals.
National Science Foundation
Contact: Cheryl Dybas
cdybas@nsf.gov
703-292-7734
National Science Foundation
Public Release: 20-Mar-2008
Evolutionary Psychology
Do attractive women want it all?
Although many researchers have believed women choose partners based on
the kind of relationship they are seeking, a new study from the
University of Texas at Austin reveals women's preferences can be
influenced by their own attractiveness.
Contact: David M. Buss
dbuss@psy.utexas.edu
512-471-4945
University of Texas at Austin
Give away your money and be happy
Buying people gifts or giving to charity makes people happier than spending it on themselves
18:00 20 March 2008
Volcanoes fingered for 'crime of the Cretaceous'
A new analysis suggests that huge volcanic eruptions produced enough poisonous gases to kill off the dinosaurs
18:00 20 March 2008
Proto-humans walked on two legs in 6 million BC
The oldest bone in the human lineage really was bipedal according to a new study, but not everyone is convinced
18:00 20 March 2008
Chloride salts on Mars may have preserved past life
The newly discovered deposits probably formed when salty lakes evaporated long ago, possibly preserving past life
22:28 20 March 2008
Supercontinent was too heavy to hold
The Gondwana supercontinent was unstable and eventually cracked in two under its own awesome weight, according to a new model
08:00 21 March 2008
US Army toyed with telepathic ray gun
A
newly declassified report reveals interest in a range of non-lethal
weapons, including using microwaves to create artificial fevers and
beam voices into people's heads
12:00 21 March 2008Universe's most powerful blast visible to the naked eye
A gamma-ray burst that detonated halfway across the universe was so bright it could be seen without a telescope
15:16 21 March 2008Study unlocks Latin American past
The arrival of European settlers triggered a dramatic shift in the genetic profile of South America's population, a study says.
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